Southern California McDonald's® Restaurants Among First In Nation To Offer Customers The New Happy Meal®

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, Southern California McDonald's restaurants will unveil a new Happy Meal which will automatically include Apple Slices (1/4 cup or 1/2 serving) and new smaller size French Fries (1.1 ounces) as a side to the choice of Chicken McNuggets®, a Hamburger, or Cheeseburger. The meal also includes a choice of beverage in which 1% white milk or fat-free chocolate milk will be options. The new Happy Meal will be available at all Southern California McDonald's restaurants by Friday, Sept. 16 and nationwide by the first quarter of 2012.

The new Happy Meal aims to address a challenge kids face in meeting the recommended daily consumption of produce. The new Happy Meal is anticipated to introduce about 100 million cups of produce annually into the diets of McDonald's youngest customers.

"We are thrilled to be one of the first markets to offer the new Happy Meal to our customers," said Michael Mangione, McDonald's owner/operator and president, McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California (MOASC). "At McDonald's, the customer always comes first and with the new Happy Meal we are reinforcing our commitment to offer our youngest customers improved nutrition choices."

McDonald's USA recently announced its "Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choice," which strive to help customers – especially children and families – make nutrition minded choices whether visiting McDonald's or elsewhere.  In addition to adding a produce or low-fat dairy option to every Happy Meal, McDonald's will reduce added sugars, saturated fat and calories through varied portion sizes, reformulations and innovations by 2020. Furthermore, the company will reduce sodium an average of 15 percent across its national menu of food choices by 2015.

The new Happy Meal is the latest example of McDonald's ongoing menu evolution, which has included adding low-fat milk (1991), changing the McNugget recipe so that it's made with white meat chicken (2003), and offering new Happy Meal choices like Apple Dippers with Low-Fat Caramel Dip (2004). More Happy Meal fruit and vegetable choices are under development and expected to roll out over the next few years.

About MOASC

McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California (MOASC) is comprised of more than 600 franchised and company-owned McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Follow us on Twitter: @McDonalds_SoCal.

SOURCE Southern California McDonald’s

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